Announcement of Morocco Receives Forty-Nine Million US Dollars for Multipurpose Development on June 28, 1976

• World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., 'vV,:~:,liington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 76/88 J•Jne 28, 1976 MOROCCO RECEIVES $49 MILLION FOR MULTIPURPOSE DEVELOPMENT A $49 mill ion loan, approved today by the World.Bank, will help finance a project to develop power generation capacity in Morocco, as well as provide water for irrigation and for potable and industrial purposes. $43.7 million will be on-lent by the Government to the Office National d'Electricite (ONE) on the same terms as the Bank loan to the Government . • The project consists of the construction of a dam at Sidi Cheho on the Oum-er-R'bia river; construction of a 120-MW power station and an adjacent 225~kV substation; construction of about 200 km of 225 kV transmission 1 ines and upgrading of associated substations; and the preparation of prel iminQry designs and bid documents for the Merija compensating dam and power station. When completed in December 1979, the project is expected to double the power-·associated hydro storage capacity in the country. Effective elec- tric power generation from the project is estimated at about 315 GWh in 1980, declining to about 250 GWh by 1995 as a result of diversions of water to irri- gation, potable and industrial use. The project will also provide water to make possible the irrigation of about 17,000 ha. in the Doukkala Perimetre, and to m~et the growth of potable and industrial demand up to the year 2000. • The Bank loan tr, Morocco is for 20 years, including 4-1/2 years of grace, with 8.85% interest per annum. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. ~·:-•.'· FORM NO. 11:,n (5-76) T E CHN I CAL DA T A PROJECT: COUNTRY: Sidi Cheho Multipurpose Morocco • TOTAL COST: $167 .1 mi 11 ion BANK FINANCING: $49 mil lion, for 20 years, including 4-1/2 years of grace, with interest at 8.85% per annum. OTHER FINANCING: Government, $55 mill ion; Office National d 1 ElEctricit;, $21.9 mil lion; and other sources, $41.2 million. IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Office National d'Electricite (ONE), 65 rue Aspirant La Fuente, Casablanca, Maree; Direction Hydraulique, Ministere des Travaux Publics, Rabat, Maroc. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: It consists of: (a) construction of the Al Massira concrete buttress-type dam at Sidi Cheho on the Oum-er-R'bia river and ancillary works; (b) construction of a 120-MW power station at the foot of the dam, including the adjacent 225-kV substation and ancillary works; (c) the construction of about 200 km of 225 kV transmission lines; and the upgrading to 225 kV of substations to be connected to such lines; and (d) the preparation of prelimlnary ,designs and bid documents for the Merija compensating dam and power station downstream of Sidi Cheho. PROCUREMENT: The following contracts have been Jet after international • competitive bidding tn accordance with the Bank's Guidelines: (a) c~vi! works for the dam; (b) hydro-mechanical equipment for the dam; and {c) the power station and substation at Sidi Cheho. Contracts for transmissfon lines and up- grading of substations will be let after internati'onal competitive bidding in accord- ance with the Bank's Guide] ines; evaluation of bids for these contracts, Moroccan equipment suppliers wi11 be given a preference margin of 15%, or the prevailing im- port duty, whichever is lower. Contracts for access roads and site buildings have been let after local competitive bidding in accordance with local procedures. Land required for the project is being acquired. CONSULTANTS: Under a contract signed in 1974, the Swiss consulting firm Alpin-consult prepared preliminary designs and bidd:ng documents for the dam on behalf of the Hydraulic Directorate of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications and the power station on behalf of ONE- Hydraulic has exte~ded its contract with Alpin-consult to provide for preparation of final de- signs and assistance for supervision of construction of the dam, and the extension will be financed by the loan. ONE has engaged Electricite de France to assist in the supervision of construction of the power station. Garbe-Lahmeyer International of Germany has been engaged for preliminary studies for the Merija dam and power station. Total consultants 1 services will amount to 76 man-years. ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: 9.6% • ESTtMATED COMPLETION DATE: December 31, 1979. - 0 -